If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

"Proposed garage"?! Are they seriously planning on demolishing those pre-war buildings, at least one of them a highrise, for a three story garage? Even if demolishing historical buildings makes them happy, how is this an economically viable way to use this land? What about community boards? Yes, I understand that their main fight is to turn Manhattan into a low density suburb and they could care less about meaningful aesthetics issues like streetwall or historical preservation, but you'd hope that even they would have something to say about this plan.

If only. Low-density suburbs from before WWII are charming, wonderful places. The putrid version of NYC coming to fruition in the Garment District and elsewhere thanks to Poon, Kaufman, O'Hara and developers like Chang, Macklowe, Moinian and the many small-timers is a land of cheap-o roach motels that belong, architecturally, at an interstate pit stop (only turned on their sides to be vertically rather than horizontally oriented). Even the average low-density suburb wouldn't do that to itself.

a land of cheap-o roach motels that belong, architecturally, at an interstate pit stop

Feel free to hate them, but there is absolutely nothing similar between suburban motels and these new Manhattan hotels. Not cost, design, price, amenities, parking, nothing.

In fact they're completely opposite types of hotels; one being cheap roadside motels with no amenities, standard design and geared towards drivers and the other being expensive urban towers with amenities, non-standard design, and no provisions for drivers.

Also, pretty sure they're demolishing a 2 story garage and replacing with a 3 story garage. It's quite possible there's some sort of crappy zoning they're trying to work around. These places are not setup to turn a profit if the lot turns into a ULURP shitshow.